It\u2019s almost Israel\u2019s 77th birthday! And a birthday is a good opportunity to reflect on things.<\/p>\n
When my kids attended Chabad preschool, they celebrated their birthdays at school. The teachers encouraged them to think about a mitzvah<\/i> (commandment) to take on to mark the occasion. Listening to preschoolers discuss what they\u2019ve chosen and why is such a celebration of Jewish life! I\u2019d invite you to try this out at the next available opportunity. You can ask any Jewish person what mitzvah they\u2019d take on, it\u2019s amazing to hear. Israel isn\u2019t a person and can\u2019t take on a mitzvah, but maybe we can help with that to celebrate its birthday.<\/p>\n
One thread in our tradition follows certain steps: we improve the world and our behaviour, and that brings about the Messiah, or the Messianic Age, the next world and a better place. Ideas differ on how we do that and why, and even on what the Messianic Age will be like. We don\u2019t agree on the specifics \u2013 and that\u2019s fine. However, a recent page of Talmud that I studied in the tractate Sanhedrin, on page 98, really highlighted this concept. It\u2019s a story, of course.<\/p>\n
Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi asks Elijah the Prophet when the Messiah will come. Elijah says, \u201cGo and ask him.\u201d Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi says, \u201cWell, where is he?\u201d<\/p>\n
Elijah describes him as sitting at the entrance of Rome, far away from where they are in the Galilee, at Mount Meron. The rabbi asks how he\u2019ll recognize the Messiah. Elijah explains that the Messiah is sitting with all the other poor, sick people, but that the Messiah doesn\u2019t untie all his bandages at once to replace them. Instead, he unties and reties them one at a time, so he\u2019ll always be ready to bring about the redemption.<\/p>\n
Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi goes all the way to Rome, identifies the Messiah, and asks him \u201cWhen will the Master come?\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>The Messiah says, \u201cToday.\u201d<\/p>\n Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi travels all the way back to the Galilee to see Elijah. Elijah asks him what the Messiah said and the rabbi tells him, \u201cWell, he lied. He said the Messiah was coming today, and it didn\u2019t happen.\u201d Elijah says no, this is what he really said: he said he will come \u201ctoday, if you listen to his voice.\u201d (Psalms 95:7)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Sue Parker Gerson, who wrote the introductory essay for this page of Talmud on My Jewish Learning, points out several things. First, that the traditional commentators inferred that we must do more mitzvot to bring about the Messiah. Additionally, she steps in with something that is a bit deeper: Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi visits all these sick people with bandages, talks to one person, and then leaves. He didn\u2019t stay to help any of the people. Perhaps, Gerson suggests, we need to put the \u201cdo the mitzvah\u201d message into practice, to help people in need and fix wrongs we see in the world. Elijah saw that Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi failed the test, so to speak, not helping when he should have.<\/p>\n Then, I read a Jewish advice column online. A parent is organizing a bat mitzvah and asks, \u201cShould I invite relatives with whom I disagree politically? They also won\u2019t like the liberal way we practise Judaism, but, if I invite them, they\u2019ll likely come.\u201d<\/p>\n The columnist suggests that, since COVID, it has been OK to make smaller guest lists and exclude people. Also, if the kid doesn\u2019t want to invite these relatives, you don\u2019t have to invite them. The columnist says briefly at the end, well, families usually invite everyone, and that\u2019s what families do, but if you don\u2019t want your happy occasion to include these people, that\u2019s OK, too.<\/p>\n My gut reaction was that this answer failed the test. The columnist fails to behave Jewishly and recommend including everyone in a lifecycle celebration. The choice to exclude could cause bad feelings for years.<\/p>\n But, instead of a \u201cfailure\u201d lesson, I have been considering what I might embrace about taking on mitzvot instead. I think a lot about turning negatives into positives lately. I\u2019m the mom-chauffeur of junior high-age twins. I hear lots of negativity from the backseat!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n To begin: be the energy you want to see. If Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi wanted the Messiah to come today, he had to do more to fix the world, including caring for the sick. Visiting the sick is a positive commandment. We should take care of one another, and it\u2019s often not enough to just visit.<\/p>\n Also, don\u2019t leave people out. If we want our lives, including our Jewish lives, to be inclusive, we can\u2019t just ditch people. Even if a Jewish person, aka a family member, has different viewpoints, votes or behaves differently, within reason, we should invite them in, rather than leave them out. Offering unity and a \u201cbig tent\u201d approach is the kind thing to do.<\/p>\n I just read Amir Tibon\u2019s The Gates of Gaza<\/i>, and its anecdotes echoed this. When Tibon\u2019s family was trapped in their safe room in Kibbutz Nahal Oz on Oct. 7, 2023, his parents raced south with only a pistol to save them. His father, a retired, secular Israeli general, spent a harrowing day attempting to save Israelis, both soldiers and civilians, on the way to Nahal Oz. After exchanging deadly fire with the enemy, he ends up with a soldier\u2019s weapon and his helmet, but he still wore civilian clothing, which confused soldiers under pressure. A religious soldier nearby helped. The soldier took off his army issue tallit katan<\/i> (an undershirt with tzitzit<\/i>, ritual fringes, on it) and handed it to him. Tibon, clothed in borrowed tzitzit and a helmet, weapon in hand, was ready for battle. The soldier\u2019s inclusivity and flexibility saved lives. Saving a life, a huge mitzvah in Jewish tradition, outweighs everything else.<\/p>\n Helping each other and skipping negativity contribute to our people\u2019s unity. We may disagree with one another and vote differently. Just this week, I\u2019ve signed two petitions and written several letters to voice disagreement; in Israel, protests are part of life. Also, this week, a cousin of ours was inducted into the Israel Defence Forces. When it counts, we\u2019re there for one another. Regarding issues of life and death, we protect one another.<\/p>\n Finally, sometimes restraint is the better part of valour. Occasionally, the first word out of our mouths is no, or a defensive or harsh response. Holding back, listening and considering the situation may help us make thoughtful choices that better reflect the people we wish to be. Israel\u2019s birthday is a chance for all of us to celebrate, listen and include. Like everyone and every nation, Israel has flaws, but embracing positive steps may change lives, or even save them, in the years to come.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Joanne Seiff<\/b> has written regularly for the <\/i>Winnipeg Free Press and various Jewish publications. She is the author of three books, including <\/i>From the Outside In: Jewish Post Columns 2015-2016, a collection of essays available for digital download or as a paperback from Amazon. Check her out on Instagram @yrnspinner<\/a> or at joanneseiff.blogspot.com<\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It\u2019s almost Israel\u2019s 77th birthday! And a birthday is a good opportunity to reflect on things. When my kids attended Chabad preschool, they celebrated their birthdays at school. The teachers encouraged them to think about a mitzvah (commandment) to take on to mark the occasion. 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